Spinner seal and fairing



Oct. 21, 1952. B P 2,614,638

SPINNER SEAL AND FAIRING Filed April 9, 1947 2 sl-IEE'I's-SHEET 1 INVENTOR.

erZe A. Beazgvre Oct. 21, 1952 M. A. BEAUPRE 2,614,638

SPINNER SEAL. AND FAIRING Filed April 9., 1947 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR. rle A. Beaupre Attorney "S PATENT OFFICE .i .j-"I ME NDE B N t I 1 lieanprasanta Monica; Calif; assignor; 7 I to flor'th-Ainerican.Aviation, Incl: 7 xiapiicationmir'il-e, is igfseiiar noi #40312 (o1. nth-160m);

e-present invention relates broadly tothe re- Figure 2 "is a cross-sectional elevation-of :the

- iduo on-in resistanoe'of aircraft components-and spinner and propeller blade astaken alongwthe mere partioularlyto the fairing and sealingotth'e 1ines 2'-'-2 ofFigure -1';' v :interseotions o f-prope1lerblade roots LlWith spin- Figure 3 shows an enlargedsectionalview of the nerspowlsand the-like; fairing ands'ea'lsh'own in Figures 1 and 2; he iairingandsealing of. thegaps at the inter- I Figure 4' is a similar sectional view aszth'atin eotiong;.oi propeller bladeLroots"and the outer, Figure: 2, but showing a modified formlof fairing (streamlined surfaces of spinnersand cowlings sealf'and 1 through wh ih the blades pass havefgivenrise-to Figure 5 is an e l detailed ViBW'IOfWh'B gp bl ern slfor which prior} efforts hav not ,pror 'mo'difieation-showniriQFigureA. v vised ntirely'sati'sfaeto y solutions Thesepro f rring now to Figu'resl to 3 mc1usive',;the l "'1' ueen augmented to a greatiextent jby blade of a propeller. is indicated by 'the'numeral gummy of .the intersectionof'the blade extending radially -.outward1y -.from-- its .hub fonfandlthe surface of revolution "com-1 t ng "l Landthrough it fi amp ring 1 which he spinner or cowl. andtne' necessarily '11-"- *holdssa splite the la e a n h p peller uapepfrherairm ,an s 1 e d installation shown in the drawings; The shank usfmgthe blad it h of variable pitch or root portion ofithepropeller blade is indicated v 11 ag; 5 1 contributed.considerably t bye-the numeral =l3. andit may have a cross-secthis .firoblein 'in order that 'a substantially faired 7 l Shown i The adelfl i 'reainii'ned surface is provided "in an 'po's'icapable otbeing adjusted in, pi ng flight {adjustment or fthezpropeller' blades. ,In ,ithmughssuitable m h s Within'thehub 34 unable, fairing andfseal at theiunoe..:. nd e imiisi f i a j m ntsr 'i n' r'with the propeller'blade', there ic ed inFigure 1 by the positions A and .B. in necessity for a simple; j1ight eigm; =ordertoreduce the drag or resistanceof'theproea fairing. These? conditions are neller shaft and its hub mounting; it is faired i pe mit in installations of pr;o'-- w thi e spinner hi n which ta o ,V 'J a urge '1;

'pellers a1rcr'aft"of relativelyhigh.poweranfl wa fin h usu l-m o.- a a d or s eedyandeirflow in aradial direction-into or h rply; round ose-port a d has pro d To i' the'spinner'ca n fre'qnentlyp'rove very-obh ghits Wall surface, openings such 'as ,lito ie able'and'disturbing to theairflow overthe accommodate-the blades of the propeller asseme spinnerand cowling', whether "this air *be utilized y-., @I hrp n airflow n a dcfor-engine oool'ing-purposesmnnot; y h 1 0 utshr ugh the p nin 1 mits aec'ordingly-a principal object of the preside fl e st ly continuous with em ntionto'prov'ide 'a relativlysimplefloW- e uria e fjhe spinner, a combined seal-and cost an d effective fairing and seal for the int-ere 35 3 0 Q Q s th tih u b np siznilai eomsection of a spinner oowling and the shank of-ya posl'tlon, 1S l i sh indicated t e propeller blade. I It isaf-urther object to provide m l ed rubber'fitting "[6 is comprised of a cylinportion ll, which plieferably such-aseal and fairing'iwhich is flexible andeas'ily fl w ll or cell attachedgasv-well as one which wingermit era r e a cottohbbihg reinforcement,

wide variation ofblade pitch adjustments of -the 4o liht hl'i 'f s foi s' i h1 m t ia Its ":Ipropel'ler; It "is-a still further'purposeof the-'pres- 9.9 Penphely 2115 5 formed RE- ng aent i-mrention tolprovide azfairing andseal which D ibn wliichiis 'prf y f e Order i nne Substantiallyicontinuesthe outer-.streamlinesur. thirty seco'nd oi .aniin'ch nder ized llaround face. ofcaspinner cowl'into .theiirregular, interiw h espec tqthe'adiacentsection of the proe jjsection with the surface .of a ,propell erablade shank pe lerblade root in order toinsure. a snug fit. Th r root; Other object's and advantages wi11:,.-;be,- member 16 also has integrally molded" therewith core --apparent to those skilled in the .art after Lian outwardly extending flange portion 13 h re ha -the present description-taken rtogether wall portion-ll of themolded, fitting 1,6 is retained withthe'acoompanying drawings, forming a part ,1 1-p0n the blade shank 1-3 by means of themetal hergo ic hwhichrq i i I 71;. hamper o01la'rI- 'I19 "and the tightening .screws :20

Figure 1 is a fragmentary planview of-a spinner at, its lug portion. A relatively thinflmetallic cowli igshowing a,propeller blade shank, in secgfl'ange' member 2],,i3referab1y formedffrornlthin tioir'passing" through an opening in the spinner sheap teei shim stgcklis bonded oriotherwiisese and to which a forrn of theirnproved seal and oured, i to.;the out of theiupper faoeflof fairing Oren-e presentinventionha's been applied; the flange 18 of the inoldedfittin g f Ti'i' bp'n- [5 in the spinner shell, and the outer portion of the element 2| is guided by, and journaled within, the inwardly crimped or offset portion of the seal retaining strip 22.

The spinner i4 is preferably provided with a bulkhead or diaphragm member 24 and a flanged memberf23' bywhichit is attached to the bulkhead and the lower face of the seal retainer'me'mber 22 on the leading side of the propeller, and a similar bulkhead 26 and connecting flange 25 isattached between the retaining strip and the bulkhead on the trailing side of the propeller. The outer connections between the angle-shaped strips 23 and 25 are preferably welded to the retaining strip 22, and may beriveted as by the rivets 21 to the radially extending bulkheads 24' and 26. It will accordingly be noted that with the wall portion I! of the fitting l6 secured to the blade shank l3 and with its outwardly extended flange l8 and the attached sealing strip 2| free to rotate within the offset portion of the retaining strip 22, a seal of the opening is provided at all of the positions of blade adjustment between such angles as thoseindicated at positionA and B. The strip 2| is of sufiicient flexi- 7 not'availablef This sheet seal functions similarly to the molded fairing'seal shown in the earlier modification although somewhat less effectively in that it does not have a closely fitting upper collar portion conforming to the upper edge Ha of the earlier modification. It has, however, provided a very satisfactory fairing and seal in those installations where fairing seals of the molded type are Other-forms and modifications of the present invention, both with respect to its general ar- "rangement and the details of its respective'parts,

which may become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading'the present description are intended to come within' the scope and spirit of this invention as moreparticularly set forth inthe following claims.

bility as to permit its being bent laterally to follow the surface of the spinner l4. The outwardly extending flange lBof the molded fitting is also of sufficient flexibility to permit it to follow the surface contour of the spinner and serves to pull the sealing strip 2! around with it as the blade is adjusted in pitch to at all times provide a faired continuation of the spinner streamline surface while providing a sealagainst the entry or exit of air flowing through'the opening l5.

Referring now'to Figures l and 5, there is shown a modification of the present combined fairing and seal which is made from a sheet of synthetic rubber or similar composition as distinguished from the previously described molded fitting. The propeller blade shank is indicated by the numeral 28 extending outwardly through the opening 39 in the spinner 29. The sheet fairing seal is indicated at 3 I, having a collar portion 32 adapted to fit closely against the blade shank and an outwardly extending flange portion 33. The cylindrical or-collar portion 32 is fasteneds'e- 'curely to the blade shank by the clamping rings nnerside'of said spinner cowl wall to provide the guide formed beneath the spinner shell 29 by the offset or crimped retaining strip 31.

As .in the case of the earlier, modification the spinner cowl is provided with an internal stiffening structure comprising the angularly bent connection 38 and the radial bulkhead 39 at the forward side of the propeller and a similar, but i v c.- formed by the angularly bent plate connection Y3 more outwardly extending internal structure, is

4| and the vertical bulkhead sheet 42. These 7 elements are interconnected on both sides of the propeller by the rivets 40 and the angle sheets 38 and 4|, being welded or otherwise connected by a suitable flush attachment means to. the

outer wall of the spinner 29. It will accordingly be'seen that thecombined-fairing seals of the latter modification will provide a means for fairand sealing the opening in a spinner cowl. 7 i

I claim: v

liAn'i aircraft propeller construction comprising a spinner cowl having an opening through the wall thereof, 'a variable pitch propeller blade shank extending radially through the opening in said spinner cowl wall, axially spaced annular periphery of the opening in said spinner cowl wall;

angular attachment means connecting the peripheries 'ofsaid transverse bulkheads'to' the stiffening support for the opposed edges of said spinner cowl opening and for the continuous off set retaining element attached to the periphery of said opening, fairing-seal means fixedly'attached to'said propeller blade shank and slidingly retained between the edge of, said spinner cowl wall and said continuous offset retaining element,

said fairing-seal means formed of molded synthetic composition having a collar portion of slightly lesser dimension than that of said noncircular blade shank for providing a tight fit thereto, said fairing-seal means forming a con- -tinuously faired "seal'of said spinner cowl wall opening around said propeller blade shank for preventing airflow therethrough ina radial direction in each of the positions of adjustment of said variable pitch propeller blade shank.

4 2. An aircraft propeller construction comprising a spinner cowl having an opening through the wall portionthereof, a variable pitch propellerblade extending radially through the opening in said spinner cowl wall portion, axially spaced annular transverse bulkheads disposed fore and aft ofsaid radially extending propeller blade and within said spinner cowl, a,continu ous offset retaining strip attached to the periphery of said spinner cowl opening forming a guide recess therewith, angular attachment means connecting the peripheries of said transverse bulkheads to the undersideof said spinner cowl wall providinglstiffening support for the opposed edges of saidvspinner cowl opening and for said guide recess, and fiexibleseal means fixedly attached to said propeller .blade and-having an extended metallic flange 'portionslidingly retained within said stiffened guide recess'for sealing'the said wall opening in the said spinner cowl around said propeller blade to prevent airflow in the radial direction therethrough at all positions of adjustment of said propeller blade.

MERLE A. BEAUPRE.

meme a r n REFERENCES CITED Number Name Date Th f n f d m 2,358,310 Bebinger Sept. 19, 1944 file g gggg i? erences are of e 7 2,379,868 Curtis July 10, 1945 2,421,841 Lowy June 10, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,498,072 Dean Feb. 21, 1950 Number Name Date 1,931,723 Fageol Oct. 24, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,083,992 Hall June 15, 1937 Number Countrx Date 2 239 400 Woods July 14 1942 571,989 Great Britam Sept. 13, 1945 882,261 France May 28, 1943 2,329,606 Goodman Sept. 14, 1943 10 

